Dollhouse Primer

If you’ve never watched Joss Whedon‘s latest show Dollhouse (as it appears many have not), or have only seen an occasional episode, here’s a refresher in a few easy steps.

Joss Whedon

Let’s face it, if you’re a Joss Whedon fan, you’re already a browncoat and buy comic versions of canceled TV shows. We should be used to this kind of treatment by now. In short, this post is not for you—unless this is validation to your fandom that you’re not the only one worried not just about seeing how season two ends, but if we’re ever going to see it at all (in any form because it has of course, since been canceled).

Joss Whedon is the genius purveyor of many ‘cult’ TV shows, and has built up a rabid fanbase of fantastic, obsessive individuals. From Buffy and its various iterations, Firefly, which got similarly screwed by the networks but ultimately became the ‘comeback success’ of Serenity, to the ‘what are we going to do during the writer’s strike?’ ‘I know, let’s make a brilliant web-based series of shorts and win heaps of TV awards, though it’s not even on TV’ Dr. Horrible’s Sing-Along Blog.

"The fanbase is in it for the long haul, they will see it through even after it is cancelled and Fox realizes that. “I don’t make hit shows, I make shows that stick around.” Joss Whedon

"The fanbase is in it for the long haul, they will see it through even after it is cancelled and Fox realizes that. “I don’t make hit shows, I make shows that stick around.” Joss Whedon

What It Is Not

In typical fashion for current TV, marketing type people have no idea how to treat something as profound and multi-faceted as Dollhouse. Promos for the show can be misleading, as they usually tend to make the show appear to be something it’s not.
It’s not sexy-super-spy-killer-robots (usually).
It’s not a plot-be-damned-ass-kicking action packed 48mins (usually).
It’s not something that is formulaic and redundant, like most of what dominates the major television networks these days.
It’s not quite like anything you’ve seen before.

What It Is

Dollhouse is smart, sexy, and serial. Only one of those three usually leads to network television success, and it’s not smart or serial. Taking the time to actually characterize, and build deep, rich protagonists is becoming rare nowadays as more focus is placed on ‘real people’ in semi-scripted ‘reality TV’. The ups and downs of the emotional rollercoaster you’re on as you invest in these characters is something you can only do with a handful of shows. This is one of those rare occasions. As Echo begins to piece together her memories and find herself, we as viewers vicariously go through the metaphysical questions of ‘what makes us who we are?’ and ‘are we more than a sum of our memories?’, or ‘are we the shapers of our own destiny?’ We also have to face the impatience of answers that are not easy to seek, and the frustration of not understanding them fully once we get them. Although this is balanced with more than enough scantily clad gorgeous women kicking complete and total ass.

The talent behind the writing and directing shines through as the deceptively simple premise is twisted and extrapolated into new directions and ideas, all of which is wonderfully portrayed by the main cast. The catch-22 inherent in the program is that these actors are playing completely different characters from week to week (which is difficult to perform, and hard for mouth-breathers to follow) and the lingering elements, as in the ‘true’ character traits, are doled out slowly and methodically for the viewer to piece together as the on screen characters do.

Fan-based promos, like the brilliant Why I Watch, are able to better understand and glean the more integral aspects of the show, and create more moving (and accurate) promotions like:

The Dollhouse ARG

Delve deeper into the story and beyond with a viral, ‘Alternate Reality Game‘

Always the best place to discuss: Unfiction

Ditch The Tech – The latest video messages, possibly sent from the future

Wipe the Future - Hack into the system with lifted keycodes to get information

Alex in the City – The blog of Alex Dawson, designer of Rossum Co website, somehow mysteriously involved in deeper events

Senator Daniel Perrin – Heading a senate investigation into Rossum Corporation and their ‘ Dollhouse ‘ locations.

Keep an eye on these active twitter accounts :

@AlexFromPR

@SaraKingsley

@SENDanielPerrin

@RossumCo

Whatever you do, don’t answer the phone.

Expository

From Dollhouse Wiki

Dollhouse centers around a secret organization that controls “dolls” or “Actives” and programs them to do any kind of required work, after which they get their memories erased and resort to a child-like state waiting for the next assignment. The series picks up at the moment when Dushku’s character, Echo, starts to remember things between assignments.

Actives (or dolls, informally) are the employees, and also the merchandise, of the Dollhouse. Any client of the Dollhouse can hire Actives for engagements, although sometimes the actives also do pro bono work. For each engagement actives get the necessary personality imprinted (which can include false memories, muscle memory, language, etc.). After each engagement, actives get their memories erased and live in a child-like state in the Dollhouse, which serves like a dormitory/school for them. Most of the dolls are “young and beautiful”, because of the high demand for romantic engagements.

Portrayed by Eliza Dushku, Echo is the main character of Dollhouse. Before Echo was recruited as a Doll, her name was Caroline Farrell. A file held by Adelle DeWitt suggests that Caroline’s past was “a mess.” After a 5-year tenure with the Dollhouse, it is promised that this will be taken care of. Caroline expresses her intent to “make a difference” and refers to a female figure in her life. They allude to the consequences of something Caroline has done or failed to do in an attempt to make a difference, which appears to be the mess DeWitt is using to pressure Caroline into signing on as a doll.

Dollhouse Friday, October 23 — 9PM on FOX. It will be on hiatus for a month, until it returns December 4, when they will be airing two episodes back-to-back on Fridays.

Watch Dollhouse

A whole month off is a great time to catch up on the series that has the most potential of any show on television. Buiding up to the final episodes, airing throughout December.

Watch Dollhouse

Twitter is the recommended place for the most active Dollhouse discussion, a quick and incomplete list of persons of interest in no particular order.

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